Israeli settler stabbed in Hebron dies from wounds

HEBRON (Ma'an) -- An Israeli resident of the illegal Hebron-area settlement of Kiryat Arba died Wednesday from wounds sustained during a stab attack earlier this month, Israeli media reported.

The man, identified by Israeli media as Genady Kofman, 41, was left in critical condition after being stabbed by a Palestinian near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron's Old City on Dec. 7.

His alleged attacker, 21-year-old Ihab Zakariya Maswada, was shot dead by Israeli border police. Witnesses in the area at the time said Israeli forces prevented Palestinian emergency services from reaching him to medical care after he was shot

Israeli media reported that Kofman was a maintenance worker at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the term used in Judaism for the site of the Ibrahimi mosque, and a father of two.

Kofman was one of 21 Israelis to be killed during attacks carried out by Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel since Oct. 1. Another Israeli was shot dead by Israeli border guards opened fire on Palestinians last week.

More than 140 Palestinians have been killed during the same time period.